Somersworth man charged with calling in bomb threat against courthouse

BRENTWOOD — A Somersworth man suspected of phoning in a bomb threat against the superior court in Rockingham County has turned himself in to police.

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

fosters.com

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

Posted Dec. 6, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Updated Dec 6, 2012 at 12:46 PM

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

Posted Dec. 6, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Updated Dec 6, 2012 at 12:46 PM

BRENTWOOD — A Somersworth man suspected of phoning in a bomb threat against the superior court in Rockingham County on the day he was scheduled to be sentenced there has turned himself in to police.

An official at the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department said 27-year-old Jonathan M. Long contacted police on Wednesday evening after reports began circulating in the media that he was a suspect in this week's bomb hoax.

A State Police bomb squad was called to the Rockingham County Superior Court Tuesday morning, Dec. 4, after a 911 caller reported a bomb was set to explode inside. The caller said a bomb had been placed near an area of the courthouse used by the Rockingham County Sheriff's office, Major Al Brackett said. It was said to be rigged to detonate between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Brackett said.

An estimated 150 to 200 people were forced to evacuate, including jurors, bringing court proceedings to a halt.

Long, whose last known address was an apartment at 31 Wildflower Circle in Somersworth, was scheduled to be sentenced on a charge of falsifying evidence at the superior court on Tuesday morning, Brackett said. He failed to appear at the sentencing.

Long was identified as a suspect in the bomb hoax after the sheriff's department obtained a recording of the 911 call that prompted the evacuation, Brackett said. An investigator recognized Long's voice on the recording, he said, and a witness also reported seeing Brackett outside the courthouse on Tuesday morning.

Officers searched for Long throughout the day Tuesday, and continued into Wednesday evening. Long eventually called police at about 7 p.m. to turn himself in, Brackett said.

Long was indicted Thursday morning on a class B felony charge alleging he made a false report. He was also indicted on a separate charge of violating bail conditions, Brackett said.

Long was due to be sentenced Tuesday on a charge of falsifying physical evidence earlier this year. According to Brackett, while Long was incarcerated earlier this year, he attempted to persuade the court that he should be released early by composing a fake letter from a doctor regarding his son's medical treatment.